When David Foster first left law school, he was still in two minds about entering the legal profession. He had a few options open to him and, as a Christian, even thought about becoming a pastor.
Indeed, his faith has played a big part in his career as a legal advisor, underpinning the ethics he believes that are essential in law. For David, one of the most attractive aspects of any lawyer’s work is the sense that justice is being done. That belief in justice underpins everything from complex litigation between companies to judicial reviews in the high court.
“What attracts me about the law is a sense that justice is done at the end of the day,” David says. “Lawyers should be about carrying out justice. It’s not just a money making exercise, it’s about seeing that wrongs are righted. Ethics are important; I have gone to the Supreme Court with ethical issues”.
Along with his Supreme Court work and litigation, David has a track record in mediation going back to the mid 1990s. During the past decade, this has become an increasingly important part of his work and one that he takes pride in — settling disputes and even creating a path back to reconciliation for formerly warring parties.
David has a track record in mediation going back to the mid 1990s.
The past 18 months have also been a busy time for David and his colleagues — despite the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Last year David’s firm, Barlow Robbins, merged with Moore Blatch to become Moore Barlow, a top 100 regional powerhouse across Southeast England. The new firm comprises 70 partners, more than 270 lawyers and legal professionals, and a total staff of some 500 across six UK offices. Powerhouse indeed.
At the new merged entity, David heads up the dispute resolution team; he’s keen to highlight Moore Barlow’s progressive side, putting the emphasis on dealing with the people issues as well as the legal problems involved.
“Yes, we’re pretty progressive and there are a number of ways we try to mark ourselves out as a firm, compared to other law firms,” David says. “One is that we try to be very human about the way we do our work, looking after people and particularly owners of small and medium sized companies”.
“What attracts me about the law is a sense that justice is done at the end of the day”
